Legend of the Ice Beast Valkyrie
by Like it Random
Summary: Ink gets called away to Jotunheim, for what she expects is the usual political problems with Asgard, but instead a mission is given to her by her grandmother: Farbauti, Queen of Jotunheim. A beautifully coloured Ice Beast has been terrorising the tribal villages in the North Mountains. Ink's mission is to put a stop to it; in any way she can. (Short story sequel to Blood and Ink)
1. Chapter 1

**Ink gets called away to Jotunheim, for what she expects is for the usual political problems with Asgard, but instead she has a mission given to her by her grandmother: Farbauti, Queen of Jotunheim. A beautifully coloured Ice Beast has been terrorising the tribal villages in the North Mountains. Ink's mission is to put a stop to it; in any way she can.**

 **AN: Hello once again everyone! This is another short story continuation of Blood and Ink. It is also a sister sequel to A Misadventure with Drakki, which you do't have to read in order for this to make sense, but it helps if you have. If you've already read A Misadventure with Drakki, then you know that the starting of these two stories are the same. If you want to skip it, you can, but it follows on with Ink's perspective, which I think is pretty cool. Similar to how A Misadventure with Drakki was a christmas (Or holiday) treat, this is an Easter (or holiday) treat! Please enjoy and leave a comment down below if you want to!**

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Chapter one

I manage to dodge the punch by arching my back and angling my face away, my black hair flying from the sudden movement. By executing the back breaking manoeuvre I had evaded the punch but only by just a few seconds. Anymore and I would be smiling through broken teeth and a broken nose. I hadn't been fighting long but I was already winded and tiring. I straightened up as the fist was pulled away. I faced my opponent, high above the New York City skyline, on the roof top of a building. The spring air was crisp, but hinted at warmth as the city shook off the last feeble grasp of winter. The early morning sun shone down, warming the earth. I stared into the eyes of my opponent: Deadpool.

I tensed, I saw him react. In a split second, I feinted, pretending to send a punch for his stomach, but instead angled to send one in to his face. I surged forward, putting all of my weight into my fist. Deadpool dodged easily, infuriatingly easily, by side stepping out of the way. I flew past him, shock, horror and humiliation written all over my face, as his foot shot out, tripping me in efficient manoeuvre. I crashed into the ground, and my teeth sang from the impact. I flipped onto my back, ready to surge up and try again, but there was already a gun pointing at my face. Deadpool pulled the trigger, and it clicked signifying that he would have to reload in order to kill me.

Smirking from under his red and black mask, he pulled to the trigger several more times to make his point.

"You'd be dead like a hundred times by now, you know," He said smugly and pulled the gun away. I glared at him, still sprawled on the ground. "Let's see this is the... fifth time you've lost to me today. If I counted back to yesterday then, oh I don't want to think about it but I will." He gloated.

"Don't remind me," I said darkly from the floor. "Help me up?" I asked.

Deadpool held out his hand, but I hesitated before taking it, as I could see his face was stretched into a grin under his mask. I took it, clasping each other at the elbow and he hauled me up quite easily.

"Will you show me how you did that?" I asked, fully aware of the fact that he still held my hand.

"Show you what?" He asked a little too innocently.

"How you tripped me." I said, exasperated. I would never hear the end of this from Wade. My rapid weight loss had left my muscles weak, not to mention my fighting skills were rather lacking, so sparring with Wade meant that I could regain my strength as well as learning some new moves at the same time.

"Oh you mean this?" Wade asked, kicking my legs out from under me, using the grip on my arm to push me off balance and lower me to the ground. He dropped my arm when I grunted as my breath flew out of me in a whoosh. It took me a minute or two to get my breath back.

"Not funny," I muttered. I started to get up and Wade held out his hand again. This time I slapped it away and got up on my own, though a prior hit to the ribs made it rather difficult. Wade chuckled at my discomfort.

"Well, I'm laughing, 'cause it's funny," He said. "You should have seen your face."

I glared at him one more time. I didn't want to start an actual argument, because if Wade got into a hissy fit he could very well give up and go find the nearest Mexican place to eat. My stomach grumbled, that didn't sound so bad actually.

"Can we take a break?" I asked. I needed something to eat.

"Sure we can go get some chimichangas." He said.

"You keep talking about those things, but I have no idea what they are." I said. I walked over to the sleeping dragons. Drakki opened one of her electric blue eyes, her black scales glinting in the new light and her blue marks flashed and flickered. Hiss shook herself, unravelling from her massive coil. A shudder ran down her body, spikes bristling and shifting, before becoming still again.

"And I'm not telling you until you try one. It will blow your mind. But don't try one of the chilli ones for your first try. You'll find that they're not quite as nice the next day." Wade said.

"Ugh," I said half-heartedly, but chuckled anyway. I nudged Drakki with my boot. She was the reason we were on this roof top in the first place, and she was the only way that we could leave. She grumbled and turned her head away, burying her face behind one of her bat-like wings.

"Drakki," I started. "Come on, my girl, we need to get off this rooftop." She didn't respond. "Drakki," I said more forcefully. Although she was very intelligent, about as clever as an average adult, sometimes I had to treat her like a toddler if she was being rather stubborn; which was nearly always.

Hiss, on the other hand, did whatever I asked, whenever I asked. Her fierce loyalty never wavered. She had already shaken herself awake, and prepared to fly at the edge of the roof top. She slithered around Wade, who had taken to shooting pigeons with one of his guns; thankfully it was silenced so he didn't cause too much trouble. Hiss gave him an indignant huff, but he just shrugged then went back to shooting pigeons.

Drakki obviously needed a little more encouragement then a few words.

"Drakki, my girl, I'll... get you a fish if you cooperate." I said. She perked up immediately at the mention of food. Normally, Drakki and Hiss, and also the talking tiger that hung around, would have to go out and hunt for themselves, but every so often I would buy them a treat.

Drakki looked like she was considering it, but I knew that she had already made up her mind. She got up and beat her wings a few times to bring the feeling back into them and wake them up.

"I swear, Drakki, you're more trouble than you're worth." Deadpool said to Drakki, now that he had killed all pigeons that had been on the roof.

Drakki pinned him with a stare that said: you really wanna go there?

"Yeah, keep looking at me like that and one day I might just believe you." He retorted to Drakki's silent challenge.

Hiss huffed as I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure why Deadpool and Drakki had such a rivalry, but it hadn't given any indication that it would let up soon, so generally I ignored it. However, when Wade needed a ride, Drakki would always enter a mood that was inconsolable, and would not allow me to fly with her as we normally would.

Drakki and I had a kind of bond that strengthened whenever we flew. I would know what she wanted to do and she would know what I wanted to do. I wasn't so much as flying her, but more like we were flying together. It wasn't the same as the bond I shared with Hiss, which was strong also, but we had more of an understanding of each other.

But when Deadpool got involved, it was like riding the worst rollercoaster ever. Or the best, depending how you looked at it.

"So, for your birthday..." Deadpool started, and I groaned. "I was thinking that we could totally get drunk and see where we go from there."

"One, you and I both know it's extremely hard to get me drunk and you can't get drunk, so I don't know why you would make such a plan." I said, but really I knew exactly why. "Two, whoever said that I wanted to do something for my birthday? I know exactly what I want to do and that is: whatever I want." Drakki stretched like a cat and I ran my hand along her shoulder.

"Whoever said that you couldn't do what you wanted also being drunk as hell? I would find it hilarious." Wade said.

"I know you'd find it hilarious, but I wouldn't the next day." I said. "Look, do you want to get something to eat, or do you want to stand here and argue all day long?"

"Wait, I know this one. Lemme think!" He replied.

However, before he could answer, a cold blue light bathed us then faded quickly, like a cloud covering the sun. Before us, on the top of a random building in New York City, stood two Frost Giants; a mage and a messenger.

They both towered over us, swathed in a mix of ice armour and furs. The warmth of the sun vanished and was replaced by a harsh cold as frost started to spread from the feet of the Jotuns and towards us. Hiss started to coil, tensing like a snake about the strike. Drakki tensed, ready to launch at the two Frost Giants. Deadpool reached for a gun and a katana, having never seen a full Jotun before he wasn't sure if they were friend or foe. But I recognised them, and so held out my hand to calm them. I knew neither of them personally, but had seen them around the great ice castle that Farbuati and her court called home.

The messenger stepped forward. "Queen Farbuati summons you to Jotunheim immediately." He said in a deep voice. I blinked in surprise.

"Immediately?" I asked to clarify. "As in now?"

"Yes." He said. I blinked again. This was rather sudden. My next planned trip was in the summer so I wasn't quite sure with why I was being summoned at least four months early. I hesitated, what had happened with Tritan... I wasn't sure if I wanted to return to Jotunheim at all.

"Oh, don't mind me; I'm just standing here, freezing to death." Wade said. Hiss hissed and Drakki moaned, both in agreement.

The two Jotuns fixed their burning red eyes on Deadpool and my two dragons. It was strange that it was this moment that my two worlds met.

"Okay, just give me a minute." I said to the Frost Giants. They nodded. I turned to Deadpool. "Okay," I said gathering myself, "I need you to look after Drakki and Hiss for me."

"What?" Wade asked as the same time Drakki perked her head up in surprise.

"Just for a couple of days while I'm gone." I said.

"You've never needed me to do it before!" Deadpool whined. "Why now? And your birthday is in, like, three days!"

"Please? Just this once. And besides, I'll be back before then." I said. "Don't destroy anything while I gone." I added as an afterthought.

"Now why would I do that?" Deadpool asked innocently. "I'm offended that you actually said that."

I smiled at him. "I'll see you later." I said and turned to the Jotuns. I walked forward, changing from my human form to my Jotun form as I did so. My fighting suit shimmered, the one I had received from the Avengers as a gift. With the help of Deadpool, it had been kitted out with toughened gauntlets and boots that I absolutely adored, and also belts and holsters, to hold various weapons that I actually had no need for, as I had figured out a way through spells to run magic through the suit. I could now cast spells of protection, strength, even invisibility over me, and it would work better than ever. I wasn't the best magic wielder in the nine realms anyway. I frowned slightly as it faded into ice armour as my skin and hair turned blue and my eyes turned red.

I reached the Frost Giants, standing between the mage and the messengers. As the cold blue light filled the air again, Deadpool waved goodbye. I waved back.

Then we were transported to Jotunheim.

The light faded from the teleportation spell but the cold didn't. I opened my eyes and blinked at the brightness of the white landscape around me, both reflective and sparkling at the same time. Above me was a dome of piercing blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. My eyes instinctively scanned the horizon, the Southern Mountains stood tall and proud; bathed in shadow on the left as the Jotunheim sun rose higher in the east. I was back. I was back on Jotunheim.

I hadn't been here since almost two years ago, it seemed like ages. I had been 20 when I first came here, barely settled in New York, trying to get a grasp on my powers. It had been jarring when I found out that I couldn't access them whilst I was in my Jotun form. I never knew why. Jotuns could have magic, but apparently I was an exception. Now I was almost 22, I had a fairly good understanding of my limitations, but it didn't stop me from doing all I could. Again, my eyes swept the horizon. It looked exactly the same as it did two years ago, but the way I saw it changed. Everything I saw was now tinged with sadness.

The three of us, myself, a mage and a messenger, were standing on the battlements on the south side of the ice castle, looking over the large settlement that had been built before it. Small huts and rudimentary houses all stood together in a disorganised fashion, like they had each been built one by one and no thought had been put into viable walk-ways and paths. The Jotuns were tribal people, and so had an entirely different culture to nearly any other planet in the nine realms and beyond. Smoke drifted up from the rooftops, a dark stain across the bright, clear sky. It drifted over the blinding white dot of the Jotunheim sun, sitting high on the east side, so much further away than that of the one in Earth's solar system, and in turn making it so much more cold.

The sun sent rays of light down on to the horizon, outlining in stark contrast the colossal mountains of the south across a large plateau of flat snow and ice. They were big, almost as big as the Himalayans on Earth if I had to compare them to anything, but they weren't as big as the mountains in the north. Separating us from those giants was a giant chasm that stretched deeper into the ground of Jotunheim than any other. Although the castle had been built long before the chasm had split the land seemingly in two, it was stupid to still live on the edge of it. I hated that chasm.

The ice castle was surprisingly small. It didn't stretch high into the sky, like the other one Farbauti use to reside in, but that was before it had been attacked by Thor and his buddies, making in almost uninhabitable without the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters to repair it. So, Farbauti had ordered everyone to move here, to this short and stocky stronghold. It was formidable, with three feet thick walls and home to most of the Jotun army. It was made from clouded Jotun ice so it could withstand just about anything that threw itself at it: raging Ice Beasts, Frost Beasts and Snow Beasts. Although the Jotuns needed better names for their native creatures, nothing could penetrate these walls.

I turned around, the mage and the messenger had already left, returning to their normal jobs and occupations in the castle. Standing under an archway of a door half in shadow was Farbauti. She waited for me with a bemused smile on her face. I bowed to her to show my respect then I stepped forward.

"Grandmother," I started. Although we shared no terms of endearment, I felt as if I needed to appeal to her more maternal side than her ruling side. But I also could have just insulted her age. Farbauti always seemed a little unpredictable and intimidating to me. "May I ask why it is you called me here?"

Farbauti's mouth quirked, "Of course," She said. She waited She was rather a stickler for proper etiquette.

"Why have you called me here?" I asked.

"I have a... mission for you." She chose her words carefully. 'Mission' could mean anything, whether it be a political or a physical one. I hoped to Gods it wasn't a political one.

"Am I to go to Asgard?" I asked. I felt like I could do it if she asked me, but I hadn't been there since before my first time on Jotunheim, and it was so brief, it held almost no weight in my memory at all. All I really remembered was the tacky gold castle that looked like a church organ's wind pipes. I wasn't Asgardian, and I had no intention to ever be one.

"No, thankfully not." Farbauti said. She stepped out into the light. It was only when she was that much closer to me when I realised how much power she wielded. Stature was everything in Jotun society and Farbauti was no exception. She was a rather intimidating 10 feet tall, just over two feet taller than me in my current form. However, Farbauti wasn't just intimidation, she was intelligent too. She knew what was the best way to settle a disagreement between two tribes and she knew that it was best to keep peace between Asgard and Jotunheim than it was to cause war and hundreds upon thousands of deaths on both sides. Even if it did come to a fight, Farbauti knew how to handle that too. She could create a battle plan in what seemed like seconds. Maybe it came with being queen of a rather war thirsty race of giants, maybe she was just naturally brilliant. All I knew was that it was an awful lot to live up to.

"I need you to go on a quest for me." She said. "Already it has been handled rather poorly, and some of my people have been lost, but I know you can handle it."

I blinked. She was throwing me right into the fire. Almost automatically a voice in my head said well she definitely wants to get rid of you. Run. Run far and run fast. It sounded suspiciously like Deadpool.

Gods, when did I become such a coward?

I knew exactly when. When I got kidnapped.

"You want me to go on a quest that multiple Jotuns have already been on and failed... and died?" I asked.

"Yes." Farbauti said, her face hardly fluttering. She doubted me. I could already see it in her burning red eyes. "I have asked you politely to do this, Ink. Do not make me command you. As my heir you will have to be tested to lead and rule, and perform in problematic circumstances. This is a stepping stone."

"There's more coming... You're Majesty?" I added. My slip of the tongue had quickly caused her to doubt me in my ability to be her heir. That was not good.

"Yes, it will come in due time. But right now there is something that needs to be done." She said. She came closer and, for a moment, just for a moment, her face softened. "Lives depend on your success. I wouldn't give you this opportunity if I didn't think you could do it."

I nodded. "With all due respect, Grandmother, you haven't told me what it is yet."

She smiled. "There is an Ice Beast in the North Mountains. It's been terrorising the local tribes. Already it had razed three villages to the ground. I cannot allow any more be taken. You need to stop it, in any way necessary. I know you can handle yourself around Ice Beasts. That's why I need you to do it."

Once more I found myself at a loss for words. I was to stop an Ice Beast. Subdue it, either by killing it or befriending it. An Ice Beast, I grimaced at the memories that surfaced. I felt I could do it. I knew I could do it. Jotuns were dying because of this Ice Beast. If there was any reason to stop such a creature, stopping loss of life was at the top of the list. It must be formidable, if so many had already died trying to stop it. But I would. I knew I could. There was only one question left.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Why you?" Farbauti raised an eyebrow. "Because you're the only Jotun left who I trust that know how Ice Beasts behave and how to stop them."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey everyone! Chapter two's here, I forgot to mention last time that I will update this short story once every two days. Yay often updates! This one's a long one, and could've been split into two, but eh, this is how I do short stories. We get introduced to some new characters, and there will a pronounication guide at the bottom because they're Frost Giants and Frost Giants have weird, nordic names.**

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Chapter two

I rubbed my eyes as I walked through the ice castle. I was the only Jotun left who could command and control Ice Beasts. But... Tritan's whole tribe knew how to control Ice Beasts similarly. Surely, they were still around.

After... after Tritan's death at the hands of Drafilie... Farbauti had ordered him into exile, and banished him from Jotunheim. I don't know where Drafilie had been sent, but it was definitely off-world. Their tribe, which had been prone to Ice Beast attacks even before Drafilie and Tritan failed to return to them, must've been destroyed by the waves of Ice Beast attacks, or had descended in to disarray after their chief and heir had never came back.

Was it my fault? That a whole tribe was no longer in existence? Was it because of me? Or would it have happened eventually anyway?

The darkness of the halls seemed fitting for my current mood, gloomy and a bit depressing. I wasn't sure where I was going. I was familiar with the castle, so I could find my way out if I had to, but I wanted to walk and stretch my legs. I needed to think.

Farbauti hadn't given me the details of where exactly the Ice Beast was or when I was to leave or how long the mission would be. She had dismissed me, saying how she had other errands to attend to. I wondered how much work it was to run a tribal race, and whether she would send someone to debrief me when she remembered that I needed that kind of information.

I kept walking, this time paying attention to my surroundings. I didn't recognise it. Even though it was only bathed in ghostly pale light cast by torches in brackets placed regularly along the walls, I never recalled walking through here before. I did have to admit, one part of the ice castle looked a lot like another.

I felt a drought rustle past my hair, blowing a few strands of hair backwards over my shoulder, the noise of which sounded like a giant ghostly breath, slithering past my ears and whispering across the walls. The air blew past again, this time sucking in, a violent deep breath. My hair flew forward in a torrent of swirling ice blue and obscured my vision, I even stumbled forwards a few steps. The wind died and my hair flopped down in front of my face. Quickly I brushed it back and shoved my fringe out of my eyes. I started walking forward again, following the wind and the draught. I was deep in the belly of the castle, there shouldn't be a draught.

So I kept walking, although the same cowardly voice from before whispered in my head this is the type of curiosity in horror movies that got the chick killed, but I kept going. There was nothing in this castle that could actually harm me. I'm sure Farbauti wouldn't have anything dangerous running around, right. Right?

I stopped at a giant hole that almost took up the entirety of the hallway's floor. It was dark, a pool of black that seemingly tunnelled down forever. It reminded me of the chasm of the north side of the castle. Air rushed past me, being sucked in to the hole. The light from the torches flickered almost becoming extinguished due to the wind.

I took a torch from its bracket and held it down into the hole, kneeling on the floor and leaning far over in to it. How far did it go down? Why was it in the middle of the hallway? Did it lead any where?

"Careful, wouldn't want you to fall down." A voice said from behind me. I jumped so violently that I almost did fall down. I whirled around to face the voice, the fire from the torch illuminated the hall. I did not like to be snuck up on. I had a bad history of sneak attacks.

The Frost Giantess who addressed me stepped closer into the light; her long and toned arms folding over her chest. I was taken aback by the sight of her. Not only was she the first Frost Giantess I had seen besides me or Farbauti, she was massive, one of the tallest giants even in general. She stood at least 9 feet tall, over at least a foot taller than me. In addition to her powerful and intimidating stature she was also extremely pretty. Beautiful if I had to admit it. She had large red eyes with long lashes and full lips. Her hair was in one long braid over her shoulder, but a big fringe covered half of her face. I blinked once before composing myself.

"Well thanks, but you might have almost just shoved me in there yourself." I said.

She smiled, but it didn't seem to be out of amusement at my comment. "Farbauti sent me. I'm going to take you to the stables; from there you'll be able to pack for your trip. We can't help you when you leave so you'll be on your way." She informed me.

"Oh well, thanks again, but I've never seen the stables before." I said. "I may need a little help to find them."

"Of course. Follow me. The stables are a new addition." She said.

I placed my torch back in its bracket and followed the giantess down the hall, I caught up with her, but her legs were quite a bit longer than mine, I spied at what she was wearing, there was a mix of furs and ice armour. It was similar to mine, but long bits of fur draped around her thighs and from the front and back of her short ice chain mail skirt. She had ice shoulder armour on one shoulder and fur on the other. Her forearms were clad in more ice armour as was her lower legs. I felt a pinch of envy. Her body was strong, but also rather... curvy.

"I didn't catch you name." I said, hoping to break the tension between us. "I'm Ink."

"I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are." She said. She sounded offended that I didn't know her. Should I know her? I racked my brain but she didn't stick out in my memory as someone I remembered. And I would remember her. "My name's Icder."

"It's nice to meet you, Icder." I said.

"Nice to meet you too, I guess." She replied.

Huh, I thought. What did I ever do to offend her?

I followed behind Icder for the duration of our journey, and I wondered, was I really going to take a horse all the way into the North Mountains? They were a week's walk away, and it took even longer to climb them. I didn't just have to reach the mountains, I had to search them. Search them high and low for an Ice Beast which I had never seen before. An Ice Beast that could fly and ambush me from above. I was to take a horse.

No wonder why no one returned.

I thought of Bonecrusher. I honestly had no idea what had happened to him. And my heart ached for him. Had he gone back into the wild? Maybe to the nest of Ice Beasts that... that Tritan had had once taken me to. Maybe he had stayed here. Maybe he had died. I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.

As we walked I felt the change in the air. Again I didn't recognise where we were going, but I marked the corners we turned; I had a tendency to ignore where I was going when I was following someone. If they knew the way why should I? That mindset had gotten me lost on more than one occasion.

It was definitely getting warmer. Well, warm for Jotunheim. Worryingly warm actually. There was only ever one temperature on Jotunheim: freezing. The only time when I had felt anything different was in the Ice Beast's nest. This was more like chilly. My heart jumped in my chest. Maybe I was to take an Ice Beast to the North Mountains.

Icder shoved her shoulder against a heavy door and heaved it open, I would've helped her, but in the time I stepped forward she had already opened it all the way. I stepped into the chamber inside. The warmth hit me in a wave. The stables were unlike any other room in the castle. There were roaring fires on three of the walls and an open space landing out onto a long balcony, more like a landing and taking off strip, over hanging onto to the chasm. The furniture inside was wood, which was strange, as I had never seen any trees on Jotunheim. There were 10 pens in total, and 6 of them were filled. Five Ice Beasts I had never seen before, and one I knew very well.

"Bonecrusher!" I exclaimed the same moment he laid eyes on me. He rushed forward out of his pen. I embraced his head to my chest, my arms hardly wrapped around his head. I held him for a long time, before he pulled away to lick my face.

The sound I made was somewhere between an 'aww' and an 'ugh'.

"He's been waiting for you ever since you went away." Icder said as she walked into a pen and started sweeping all the hay out with a broom that had been lying to the side. A disgruntled and annoyed Ice Beast walked out, letting Icder have full space to clean and change the hay.

"Have you been looking after him all this time?" I asked, because if she had I would be entirely in her debt.

"Yeah; me, Nirym, Hefmir and a few others."She said. "Farbauti commissioned the stables for us and our Ice Beasts."

The Ice Beast Icder was attending to was big, almost as big as Bonecrusher, but instead of having four wings and two legs, he had four legs and two wings, similar to the posture of Drakki/ is tail was shorter, stocky, with a mace like spiked end. His big wings also had spikes at their joints. He was quite a spiky Ice Beast. His colouration was the same though, red burning eyes and blue skin, with darker blue markings.

"He's gorgeous." I remarked, my Manchester accent coming through a little bit. "What's his name?"

Icder smiled, different from the first time I had seen her smile. This one was genuine. "He's called Banshee, and he's a Sonic Scream."

I smiled at her. "I'm guessing he's loud and proud, then; rightly so by the look of him." I said.

"Like his owner," Icder remarked.

Banshee came closer, prowling forward, like a tiger. He snuffled, heavy breaths coming out of his nostrils. Although I preened and rubbed Bonecrusher, Banshee ignored him for the most part, they'd lived in the same stable for months now. I held still as he sussed me out. When he realised I wasn't something to eat or kill, he returned back to Icder.

Icder had finished her job and rubbed Banshee's head. I was puzzled. If Icder had an Ice Beast, then she knew how to handle them. And she had mentioned others.

"Hey, how come Farbauti has me doing this quest? You seem just as capable at handling Ice Bests, maybe even better." I said.

"Icder drew herself up, obviously pleased with the compliment, but her eyes were stormy.

"You're the only one Farbauti trusts." She said rather bitterly.

"Why only me? Why wouldn't she trust you?" I asked.

"Because I'm from Drafilie's tribe!" She shouted. "Or what's left of it. Ever since Drafilie announced his plans to take over the throne of Jotunheim and killed Tritan, Farbauti's been a little untrustworthy of those left over. And then she exiled our chief to outside the nine realms, and what happened? Our village fell apart. Nirym, Hefmir, Rimir, Isar and I are the only ones left."

I was so taken aback I didn't know what to say.

"Farbauti's kind enough to let us stay in the castle, but her trust doesn't extend so far that she would send us on such delicate quests." Icder explained.

"Icder, I'm so sorry." I said, but it didn't feel like it was enough.

"Yeah, I am too. But there's nothing I can do about that now." She said.

Bonecrusher nudged me, asking for more petting. I gave it to him, if only so I could look away from Icder's beautiful and distraught face.

"Any way." She said when she had composed herself. Some of the other Ice Beasts tilted their heads and opened their eyes to see if she was okay.

Icder walked over to a table and showed me a book. The page she opened to depicted a, frankly, beautiful Ice Beast, with intricate red patterns on its wings, a long, graceful neck and tail and spines running down it's back.

"This Ice Beast you're tracking down, it's called an Amberjaw, but there's something different about her." Icder explained.

"Different how?" I asked.

"There's a legend that explains her origin." Icder started.

"Don't spoil the story for her!" A Frost Giant shouted as he came through the door, followed by several others. "Everyone knows that Nirym's the best at telling stories."

He gestured at the giantess that followed him. All of these new comers were a bit much for me all to take in at once.

The Frost Giant entering looked young, bit younger than me by a few years, but he was taller. He was taller than Icder too, but only by a few inches. If I were to guess, I would say he was somewhere around 9 foot 5. He wore a fur cape, secured at his right shoulder and flowing down over his chest and left arm. He didn't wear a top, so he showed off his very muscled chest. My eyes widened a little, it was quite enough to have that much muscle. He ware some kind of toga, but it was only covered his bottom half. He had Ice armour, his right arm was covered in a gauntlet and shoulder guard, on his left there was only a gauntlet. His hair was dark, almost blue-black, and shorn off on his left side, the other half hanging over his face. His demeanour was brash, like he was ready if a fight came around the corner.

My attention was then immediately drawn to the Giant behind him. He was easily 10 feet tall, and looked so similar to the first Frost Giant that lead me to believe he was his brother, but instead of his fur cape draping over one shoulder, it was over his back, he had ice shoulder armours on both shoulders, and a necklace of long teeth on a string. He also had leather bracers around his chest, his very muscled chest (boy this was uncomfortable). He also wore a toga, similar to the first Frost Giant. His ice armour was also similar to the first, but different. He had identical armour around both arms. He had the same hairstyle, except the one side was longer, and its colour was lighter almost like blonde.

I then focused on the Giantess that walked with them. She was shorter than the others, so she hadn't drawn my eye immediately; she was even shorter than Icder, but only by a couple inches. She was still taller than me by about a foot, so I would say she stood somewhere around 9 foot tall. There was a long cape that draped from her shoulders, and wrapped around her neck like a scarf and draped around her chest like a scarf. She had ice armour that was similar to Icder's. Her upper arms were clad in ice armour that replicated Ice Beast scales. She also had a short chain mail like skirt, but her chain mail was like scales. Short pieces of fur that draped down her thighs and longer pieces of fur draped down from the front and back of her legs. Her hair was a similar shade to mine, and had a long fringe over the right side of her face, the left side was shorter, and a long single braid hung over her shoulder. The rest of her hair flowed out behind her. She was also pretty, with long lashes and big lips.

Finally my eyes were drawn to the last Frost Giant there. He was smaller than the others, which it was why I took so long to spot him. He looked to be around 8 and a half feet tall. His hair was long and wavy, and shorter than the other two Giants, and also the most normal. He was the only on with armour all over his chest. It was a lot of linking pieces strapped together with leather. It looked very well crafted and like it took a long time to perfect. A cape hung from his shoulders, and a bit like the Giantess; draped over the top of his chest like a scarf. He had shin pads and armour on his fore arms. He looked young as well, as young as the first Frost Giant.

"It's so nice of you to finally show up." Icder said sarcastically. It wasn't something I heard often from Giants, sarcasm, but it was at that moment that I remembered that the Vikings invented sarcasm.

"Isn't it just, Icder?" replied the first Frost Giant.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I've met you before." I said. I was definitely the smallest creature in the room, especially now that the various Ice Beasts in the different pen had woken up to see their respective owner.

"No, you wouldn't have." Said the Giantess. "I'm Nirym, that's Rimir," She gestured to the first Frost Giant, "that's Hefmir," She gestured to the second, "and that's Isar." She said pointing to the last.

"It's very nice to meet you, I'm –" I started but was cut off by Rimir.

"-Ink, we know." He said.

"Everyone knows." Hefmir said, his deep voice reverberating around the room.

"It seems like I hear that a lot lately." I mumbled and brushed my hand over Bonecrusher's head.

"Well, there's another thing you are going to hear a lot of, Nirym's the best story teller around." Rimir said as Nirym stepped forward.

* * *

 **AN: Me again, okay so pronunciation guide!**

 **Icder - Iss-der**

 **Nirym - Ni-rim**

 **Hefmir - Heff-mer**

 **Rimir - Rim-er**

 **Isar - Iz-are**

 **I will also soon get pictures of them up on my Deviantart page, so you know what they look like!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello everyone! Back again for another chapter. Much like A Misadventure with Drakki, this short story has 5 chapters, so we're half way done! Thank you for sticking with the Blood and Ink series so far, as you can guess, this is mainly a Ink fic, so sorry to those who came for Deadpool. But don't worry, I'm working on an Age of Ultron tie in, which will include Deadpool adding his shenanigans to the madness which is Ultron! Also, thank you Lupe55 for being my first reviewer!**

* * *

Chapter three

I sat next to Bonecrusher in the stable of Ice Beasts. I was here for a mission, but so far I had only accomplished at delaying it. There was a story I had to hear apparently, but I wasn't sure if I could sit still long enough to hear it. I needed to get all of my supplies ready for the very long flight to the North Mountains.

A hush had fallen over the stables. The five Frost Giants sat with their Ice Beasts, each of the creatures were gorgeous in their own way, all with the same colouration as Bonecrusher. I had already been introduced to Banshee, Icder's Sonic Scream. The others, I hadn't met and was still a bit jumpy around.

Hefmir sat with an Ice Beast similar in size and shape to Banshee. His legs were a little shorter, and his chest was more broad and flat than the Sonic Scream. He also had two huge horns pointing out, like a bull's but bigger, and two more along his jaw line. His wings were huge, almost as long as his body. Long spines travelled down his back and under his wings, and ended in a large mace like end on his tail. He was just as intimidating as his owner. The Ice Beast yawned, showing off the mouth full of jagged and sharp dagger like teeth that filled it.

Rimir sat with an Ice Beast with a long neck and tail. It was so long that the Ice Beast's body was still in its pen, whilst its head lay in Rimir's lap. From what I could see of the Ice Beast, it had long spines running down its neck and spine, with large frills along its jaw line and large horns just behind its eyes. The strangest thing about this Ice Beast was that his scales were all coloured red, and had blue markings, the inverse of the other Ice Beasts. It was strange because the Ice Beasts were coloured blue to hind within the Jotunheim landscape and sky.

Nirym sat with a beautiful Ice Beast. It was gorgeous, with layered wings and delicate fins and frills in a crown around its head. Its neck was short, but unlike the others, it didn't have spins that ran down its back. It had a small pair of fins under its wings, and another pair at the curve of its tail. Again it walked on four legs, low to the floor, with a long tail curled around its owner. Its markings were bright and striking. Its keen eyes were always trained on its surroundings, looking out for its owner.

Finally, Isar sat with a bird-like Ice Beast, in that it had two long legs and stood like a flamingo, but it was there where the similarities stopped. Its scales were more like plated armour, with shard like spines running along its back and curling around its tail. It seemed to have three eyes on either side of its head, but it looked like only two peered out at the room, and the others were sensors, like that of a snake's. Although it stood calmly, its head twitched and looked around, seeming to take interest in nothing and everything.

It was when everyone was settled that Nirym started to speak. Her voice echoes throughout the room and the restless Ice Beasts clamed and stopped, listening to the strong yet quiet voice of Nirym. Despite the calm, I shifted. I had to leave and get this quest finished as long as possible. I wanted to get home already. I almost missed the constant sound of Wade's chatter in my ear. Almost.

"Long ago, Ice Beasts were strange and savage creatures, attacking anything that came across their way, raiding villages, leaving them as ash. Those who kept us safe from the ravaging Ice Beasts were trappers, skilled in the art of catching and subduing Ice Beasts.

"Once a Valkyrie fell in love with an Ice Beast trapper, although uncommon, it was not unexpected. The trappers close work with death had led him in to the Valkyrie's path more than a few times. She admired his bravery, and he loved her fierceness in battle.

"As a token of his love, the trapper promised to hunt down the most beautiful Ice Beast, and make a cloak out of its hide. But alas, her trapper did not return.

"He had been slain, by the very same Ice Beast that he'd sought to kill. The Valkyrie had carried his own spirit to Valhalla.

"Distraught, she hunted the Beast down, and she slew it. Only after did she see how truly beautiful such a creature it was. After, she wept for her lost lover and the slaughter of such a lovely thing. Although she wept for the one Ice Beast, she hated the rest.

"She found that every time she wept, ugly cries and keening that echoed out into the landscape, an Ice Beast came looking. Whether through its interest in an easy meal, or its unperceived gentle nature, the Valkyrie didn't care. She killed every Ice Beast she came across.

"Then, years later after she had lost her love, Loki came across the Valkyrie. He saw the trap she made, weeping into her hands and waiting for an Ice Beast and at her savagery at when she killed it.

"Being the trickster god he is, Loki turned the Valkyrie into an Ice Beast, they very thing she hated, but not just any Ice Beast, but the beautiful and deadly one that had killed her trapper.

"After all those years of hunting Ice Beasts, the Valkyrie had turned into a Beast herself. Now that she embodied one, she became even more so, and no longer does she pray on Ice Beasts, but anything whether Jotun or otherwise, that crosses her path." Nirym finished her story, but for a moment after, everyone stayed silent.

"Did I not tell you that Nirym was the best at telling stories?" Asked Rimir proudly.

"She is," with as much bravado as I could muster; which wasn't much. I rubbed my arms, trying to get rid of the Goosebumps that had appeared at several parts of the story.

"How does it feel, knowing that your father had a part in this?" Icder asked sharply. I almost gave her the satisfaction of flinching. Almost.

"Icder," Hefmir warned, his low and threatening voice echoing throughout the room. It was unsettling to that everything about this Giant, right down to his voice, was intimidating. But I didn't judge him for it. He had just defended me anyway.

"No, that's okay," I said to him. I turned to Icder. This one had a right chip on her shoulder. "I don't expect any less of him, Loki that is. And besides, he's not really my father. I never had a father. I grew up as an orphan, which isn't so bad on Midgard, but it's bad enough. As far as I'm concerned, Loki isn't my father, despite his biological relation to me. He didn't even send a lousy child care check." I explained. It was the truth. I didn't care about Loki being in this legend. I was more worried about the Ice Beast being a real Valkyrie. Years of fighting and battling did not disappear after a blink of an eye, even f you were a different species.

"Thank you, Nirym." I said to her. She nodded in acceptance. I stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for my trip."

Bonecrusher unfurled himself, opening his wings slightly, but there wasn't much room. The Giants stood also, and guided their Beasts back into their pens. I busied myself, I brushed down Bonecrusher, found a satchel and slipped the book Icder had showed me inside of it. Although the legend had been somewhat helpful, it didn't tell me exactly what this Ice Beast was capable of.

As I got things ready, the Giants left, but Hefmir lingered. I tried to ignore him best I could, but he was so massive he was in my eye line everywhere I looked.

"Ink," he said. I stopped and looked, and hoped I didn't look as worried as I felt. "Be careful around Icder." He warned me. "She lost much on the day our chieftain and heir failed to return. We all did. She has just decided to blame the wrong person." He said it with serenity.

"Thank you," I said, unsure what to do with this information.

"Ink, so you know, Tritan was our friend." He said.

I turned away from him and frowned, just a small crease at my eye brows. He left, sensing that I needed to be on my own.

* * *

We were in the air not even an hour later, cutting through the skies like a boat cuts through the sea. I loved flying with Bonecrusher, I always had. The surety of his wing beats, the sheer size of him too. It was glorious.

Although the Ice Beasts and their riders didn't have saddles, they had saddle bags, and I found the right sized ones in the stable. Bonecrusher didn't like having them on. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was because it reminded him of the metal helmet he used to have to wear. But when I explained that we needed to carry things like food and water, he calmed down. Or maybe it was just the tone of voice I had used. I wasn't sure but either way, he was now carrying supplies. We could find wood for a fire on our journey. I spied the great amount of snow covered forest below. I thought it was strange, because it seemed to cold here for plants to grow.

Nevertheless, the wildlife on Jotunheim never ceased to amaze me.

I wasn't sure how long I was going to travel for, but I had a plan. My birthday was in three days, the big 22, I had to get back to earth at least on the third day to celebrate it with Wade the next day. He would kill me if I missed it, and I would hate to disappoint him.

Three days, two nights. That's how long I had to do this quest. Today was the first day. Already most of it had gone. It was well past noon, and the North Mountains were still an awful long way off. I had to reach them by the second day, so I had long time enough to stop the Ice Beast, an Amberjaw, according to Icder's book, and on the third day I had to make it back to the ice castle for a ride home. Easier said than done.

For hours we soared, high above the frozen grounds, in the arms of the frozen sky. Despite the seemingly unending cold, the scenery was truly beautiful.

I passed over a field of ice, or maybe it had been a lake in some point in time. All I knew that it sprayed fractures of light splintering in the ice and shining in all sorts of colours and brightness.

We reached the North Mountains by sundown. It was very good timing. I had pushed Bonecrusher all day, something I wasn't proud of, but I wanted this finished as soon as. We circled around the mountains, looking for a suitable place to land when a blizzard split the sky, cutting us off from anywhere else. I could barely see Bonecrusher, a warm weight beneath me, let alone a landing site.

Wind blew and screamed in my ear. That quickly a white out happened. It had been clear most of the day, almost no sign that there would be a blizzard the next minute. A low an ominous rumble reverberated through the air before lightning split the sky and thunder boomed. We needed to get out of the sky, now. I had never seen lighting in a snow storm before but I knew it wasn't good, I couldn't have time to admire it.

Bonecrusher landed after only a few minutes, a cliff leading into a small cave, but big enough to fit both me and Bonecrusher.

I jumped off his back and sighed. I didn't know how long this snow storm would last. The best outcome was that it would have vanished by morning, leaving snow so the Amber jaw could leave tracks in it. The worst outcome was that it lasted longer than a day, maybe two, possibly even three. A week long snow storm wasn't out of the question either.

I had only brought food for two days, having eaten before we left an wanting to travel light meant I had only brought the basics; a couple skins of water, bread and cheese. I was hoping that there would have been a chance to hunt, both because I would've liked to eat something a little more appetizing than cheese, and so Bonecrusher didn't have to go hungry.

"I'm sorry, Crush," I said, testing out his new nickname. "I'm afraid it's going to be a rather uncomfortable night."

Bonecrusher huffed, but settled himself down in the cave. He took up most of it, but there, underneath his two sets of wings, and inside the curl of his tail, he'd left a little space for me.

Carefully, I treated over to him. Sitting down I realised that he had given me shelter from the wind blowing inside of the cave.

"Thanks," I said. I rubbed his head, which he had lain down beside me. I had a thought. "I wonder what Wade's doing." I said aloud.

Bonecrusher huffed again. He didn't know who Wade was.

"Oh, right, you don't know. I'd like for you two to meet one day, I'm not sure what you'd make of him, he's a bit crazy." I said. "If you're anything like Drakki, and you kind of are, then I don't think you'd like him." I sighed. "I can't believe I left him in charge of Hiss and Drakki, most of the time I can't even control them. And they don't like Wade. Which is a shame, 'cause I like Wade. A lot. He's a really good friend." I said getting up and started poking around in the saddle bags, I got out my measly dinner and some freezing cold water. "He saved me, you know, well he saved me more than once actually. It's quite funny as the first time we met he was trying to kill me." I explained.

So, in the darkness of the cave, a snow storm blowing, raising the dead with its loud screeching, I told the very strange story of how Deadpool and I became friends.

* * *

The snow storm whited out everything. Perfect for the hunt. The Ice Beast Valkyrie opened her red eyes. There were intruders in her lands. Frost Giant and Ice Beast. She could smell them. She roared, though the sound was drowned out by the storm, unfurled her wings and began to hunt.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Another day, another update. I don't have very much to say, except that you should look out for my deviantart page flaring up with pics of all the new Frost Giants and such. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter four

I struggled to wake up. I was quite cosy. Bonecrusher had wrapped himself tightly around me, huffing hot air into the small space that I occupied. It was so warm that I quickly checked to see if I had turned into a human, I hadn't thankfully.

Bonecrusher looked so peaceful that I almost didn't want to wake him up. He looked like a giant lap cat. I patted him on the nose. His big, red eyes opened. Well one of them did.

"Time to wake up, sleepy head," I told him. He huffed, the smell of carrion washing over my face. I almost gagged. Ice beast morning breath was not nice. "Move, if you please, your highness." I said sarcastically. "I need to see if the storm's stopped."

Bonecrusher shifted, but only enough so that I could climb over him. Grumbling, I grappled over his large back, using his wings as foot holds and spines as anchors to haul myself up and over.

When that small task had been done, I stood on the small out cropping of the cave. The stormed had stopped. We were high up, surprisingly so. I could see nothing but a sparkling blanket of white. There was still a bitter wind, but that was to be expected. We still had higher to go.

I turned around; Bonecrusher was still curled up on himself inside the cave. I kicked him lightly.

"Crush, time to go," I said. "Don't hit me off the edge when you get up," I warned. I was dangerously close to the edge. I wasn't sure how he did it, but he managed to turn around in the cave, stick his head out and ruffle his wings, all without even brushing me. He held his neck out, signalling me to get on.

"You're such a gentleman." I commented. "Wade would've probably just pushed me off to see my reaction. He has this teleporter thingy, so he would catch me. Drakki would have taken longer to get up, she certainly would still be asleep, and Hiss wouldn't have slept at all."

Bonecrusher huffed, notifying me that he had heard me, but his face was distant. He wanted this mission done and dusted as much as I did.

With a smile, I hauled myself onto Bonecrusher's back. Only when I was secure, feet firmly planted on each side of his back and gripping a spine for support, did he take off.

Well, he made to take off. What he really did was just fall off the edge.

I yelped in surprise, as I was expecting a sudden take off. But soon I felt myself enjoying the short fall. All drowsiness had gone and it was one sure fire way to wake up.

Before we'd even fallen that far, Bonecrusher opened his four massive wings, flipped once and sailed into the sky. He even did a little corkscrew just for the fun of it.

I savoured the moment. I knew that whatever happened next, I wasn't going to like it and would not want to remember it. We soared higher, past the mountains as I contemplated a plan. Really all I had was the basic steps. Get to the North Mountains, stop the Ice Beast, get home. Of course now I realised that there was a little more to stopping the Ice Beast.

"How would you stop the Amberjaw?" I pointed the question at Bonecrusher, but I would settle with an answer from anyone. Of course I was alone. I wasn't going crazy like Deadpool yet. At least, I hoped not.

I regretted not wanting to stay in the stables longer and asking the Giants about how you go about stopping an Ice Beast. Why was I in such a hurry to leave? Was it just so I could get back earlier? Stupid, stupid, stupid me. I would slap past me if I could for being so ignorant.

"I wish Wade was here." I said. "He would know what to do. He would know how to track down that Amberjaw despite never having done it before! Crap, he'd even kill it without a blink! What the hell do I do, Bonecrusher?" I asked him. I felt hopeless. This was a creature that had already killed trained soldiers! Oh I was going to fail. I was going to die.

Bonecrusher huffed and soared down closer to the mountainside. The snow storm had left deep snow. Even from here I could see the tracks of rabbit-like creatures that lived on the mountainside. Bonecrusher had told me where to start. Besides I had that idea before. Maybe not all hope had been lost.

I remembered the book I had slipped into my satchel. I hadn't even looked at it properly. If I know what kind of tracks to look for then I could go from there. I also hadn't seen any other Ice Beast in the North Mountains. The situation started to look better and better.

"Land where you can," I said to Bonecrusher. He circled for a short amount of time before choosing a roughly flat piece of land on the side of a mountain. I jumped off him and ran around to the saddle bags under his wings. I grabbed the book and hopped back on his back. I flipped past pages of Ice Beast statistics. I paused on a few pages, the pages that depicted the type of Ice Beasts the Frost Giants had. Hefmir had a Wraithrattler, Isar had a Frostbolt, Nirym had an Abysstrike and Rimir had a Flametender. It didn't help me at all; it was just interesting to see.

Finally I came to the page I wanted: Amberjaw. _Size – medium, speed – medium_ , I read. I skimmed through the page until I saw something that caught my eye. _Special ability: Can spit an amber-like substance that can trap prey and is nearly unbreakable. Only the fire of the hottest fire breathing Ice Beasts can break it._

Great. This Ice Beast had superpowers.

Cautiously I flipped to the Sky Chaser page. _Fire – extremely hot_. _The Sky Chaser shoots sustained, blazing torus of fire that forms a spiral._ That was reassuring, and slightly terrifying.

Back to the Amberjaw. I read and studied the picture of the Amberjaw, especially the shape of its feet and what kind of tracks it would leave. Although unfortunately the book did not specifically say how to successfully capture a raging Ice Beast of this species, not that I expected it would, I did manage to glean some information out of it. The Amberjaw was a typically an aggressive Ice Beast, it would attack even if not necessarily threatened, a master of hunting and tracking (mainly an ambush predator) and its distinctive wing shape and pattern made it easy to spot in the sky.

So not only was this a super powered, predator and model-class looking Ice Beast, it was also naturally aggressive. That coupled with the fact that it was a supposedly grief stricken Valkyrie in another form did not sound good.

It was at this point that the realisation that this Ice Beast could actually kill me, sunk in.

"This Ice Beast certainly give you the run for your money," I said to Bonecrusher. "Since, you know, you're the best ever."

He looked proud about that, lifting his head up so I could scratch his chin.

"At least now I know what I'm looking for." I sad and placed the book back into the saddle bag by leaning over as far as I could. "Come on, Crush, we've got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

The sun sank lower and lower into the horizon.

"No, no!" I shouted at it, almost pathetically pleading it to stay for longer. "Don't go!"

It's hopeless, that I know. The day was ending. We had spent all day, _all day_ , searching for the Ice Beast Valkyrie. Nothing. I had seen absolutely nothing. Bonecrusher hadn't smelt anything, or seen anything either, except for the occasional rabbit-like creature that practically hopped into his mouth. He wasn't a tracker, so I didn't blame him. It was my fault, I should have thought this through beforehand.

There were numerous things I should've done as I watched the orange-gold sun sink lower and lower down the sky, streaking the sky scarlet and orange and pink. I shouldn't have been in such a hurry to leave. I should've asked Icder for more information. I should've asked if the Frost Giants could've helped me find this Amberjaw. Should've, should've, should've.

Of course there was nothing I could do about it now. I'd wasted a day, whether by tracking incorrectly or just being stupid from the start. Soon it would be too dark to see, let alone hunt. We circled a mountain once again. We were quite for into the North Mountains. I could definitely find my way to the ice castle, but it was an awfully long way back, and there was still so much more ground to cover.

"I can still do this," I said to myself, but Bonecrusher still huffed. "Yeah, we can do this. Let's just rest for now." I spotted a rocky outcropping at the side of a mountain. Not quite as sheltered as our last spot, but it would do. It wasn't snowing this time. It was a relatively calm evening.

We landed, and I slid off Bonecrusher. I pretty much flopped onto the ground. My legs were basically like jelly. Bonecrusher folded his wings. I could see him shifting his aching shoulders and practically moaning at the break. I smiled him and rubbed him on a spot on his back.

"You're gorgeous, you know that?" I said to him. He puffed out his frills that adorned his head. "Yeah," I said and cuddled him a bit more. I sat on the floor and started stretching my legs. I was incredibly tense after a whole day of flying. I considered starting yoga when I returned to Earth. The benefits certainly outweighed the cons, but I realised that I would be teased mercilessly by Wade. I wouldn't be joining yoga any time soon.

I grabbed some food out of the saddle bags. Bread and cheese again, but I had eaten basically rabbit throughout the day. The small hopping, white furred creatures did certainly look like rabbits, and tasted like it too. It was discerning to know they had a mouthful of razor sharp teeth that almost left a hole my arm and bird like talons for feet, complete with scaly skin chicken legs. I nicknamed then raptor rabbits in my head as I had nothing else to come up with.

After the bread and cheese I drank the last of my first skin of water. I'd bought two with me, but instead of diving into another, I gave it to Bonecrusher. He was happy to have a bit of a drink.

Before settling down I packed the skins full of snow and gathered some rocks. Bonecrusher blew a small torrent of fire onto the rocks, almost singing my eye brow off, heating the small space like a furnace. I laid down the skins of snow near to the hot rocks so they would melt over night and I could be replenished with water. Due its sub-zero temperatures Jotunheim didn't have that many sources of running water, so melting the abundant snow was the next best thing.

I settled down to sleep and Bonecrusher wrapped himself around.

"Goodnight, Crush," I said as exhaustion settled into my body. "We'll have to finish this off tomorrow..." I said as I yawned. I fell asleep soon after

* * *

I awoke to absence. Absence of light, absence of sound, absence of comfort.

I opened my eyes and looked around wildly for Bonecrusher. I spotted him almost immediately, a giant silhouette that blocked out the light of the stars.

I gasped. _The stars._

The night sky wasn't just black, it was a range of blues, purples and greens, highlighted with pink absolutely littered with millions and millions of tiny bright lights. It was brighter and more beautiful than anything I had ever seen before. The stars and constellations were utterly foreign to me, I couldn't name a single thing. I couldn't see the North Star that shone so brightly on Earth, and would help guide the way back home. It didn't matter. I saw the edge of a galaxy, the edge of a swirl of stars. I wondered if that was the Milky Way, or if it was Andromeda, or something completely new. The lack of light pollution had a dramatic affect on its beauty. I could even see nebulas, a giant cluster of gas, the colour turquoise and pink. I always thought the night sky on Earth was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to this beauty, this masterpiece. I wanted to remember every detail of it and paint it at home, so I could always have this moment.

But despite its majesty, Bonecrusher wasn't looking at it.

He was staring off into the distance, red eyes narrowed. I walked up to him, and put a hand on his wing. Every muscle in his body was taught, like steel cables. Bonecrusher huffed rapidly, his chest heaving. He wasn't the best tracker but he could smell something _wrong_.

I gasped and grabbed the skins off the still warm stones. Water sloshed inside as I stuffed then into Bonecrusher's saddle bags. He barely moved even then. I scrambled onto his back and when he was ready, he launched into the sky.

The moment we were in the air a roar rang out. A war cry. A challenge.

Bonecrusher echoed it, a reply. Strong, loud, and the most threatening sound I had ever heard.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So here it is, the last chapter of Legend of the Ice Beast Valkyrie. It's been fun writing it, as I've been able to introduce new characters, reunite Ink with Bonecrusher and give Ink more emotional turmoil then I probably should.**

 **Don't worry though, this isn't the last of me. I have yet still to write a short story tie in for Avengers: Age of Ultron, so that'll be up around summer time. It won't be as long as Blood and Ink as, but longer than my two short stories, so around about 10 chapters long. Keep a look out, it'll be called Cables Are Stronger Than Strings (hey, see what I did there?) I'll try my best to keep it as fun as possible and try NOT to just copy up the literal manuscript of Age of Ultron (I've been culprit to that before). In the mean time, here's the last chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter five

The Ice Beast, the Amberjaw. It was here. It had tracked us. How could it have tracked us? I hadn't even seen any trace of it, and we had been in the sky almost all of yesterday and yet... It was here.

I could be home by tomorrow killed – stopped it, I could go homes and be done with this stupid quest.

Bonecrusher's wings sliced through the air as we soared high in the sky. I wasn't sure if we were flying to or flying from the Amberjaw. II heard another roar from the opposing Ice Beast, but I couldn't track where it came from. Bonecrusher roared back at it. Another challenge.

Then, out of nowhere, I heard the snapping of leathery wings and a terrible, high pitched shrieking. I couldn't turn fast enough as I heard a black shadow tear past, slicing its claws down Bonecrusher's shoulders before dancing away into the night.

Blue blood dripped from Bonecrusher's wounds but he didn't seem fazed. He was just angry.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see her." I said to him. He huffed; he wasn't mad, she had snuck up on both of us. "Eyes open, we can do this." I spied a forest in a valley below us. "I have an idea, soar low." We dived down into the valley, steep faces of jagged rock zooming past us. Bonecrusher dodged past them all nimbly thanks to his four wings.

He hovered above the tree tops. I lent down, clinging onto his neck by my legs alone and reached for a branch. It was a stretch; I could barely hang on to Bonecrusher, although he hovered as still as he could, it was difficult to grab a branch that was big enough for a torch. "Lower!" I said, we dropped a couple of feet. My hand closed over a branch and I yanked it, breaking the thick limb.

I swung up and sat back on Bonecrusher's back. The Amberjaw hadn't appeared again yet. I leaned over again into the saddle bags and grabbed the small rag of cloth from the hastily packed and low rate first aid kit. It wouldn't last long, but I held the makeshift torch out for Bonecrusher to light. A small, swirling torrent of bright orange flames engulfed the tip of the torch, eliminating the darkness that smothered us.

I waved the torch around, searching for the Amberjaw. I caught movement from out of the side of my eye, a dark splotch that blotted out the stars. I swung my torch around, with a heavy thunk it hit against the Amberjaw. I felt the briefest touch of claws rake against the skin of my face before the Amberjaw flew away, shrieking in annoyance as it did so. I wasn't bleeding, thank the gods, but the Amberjaw wasn't harmed either, Ice Beasts were fairly fire-proof, so a small torch would not do anything to harm it.

"We need to turn the tables in our favour, Crush." I said to him. We were at a disadvantage. Bonecrusher had already been hurt. "We need to find her and stop her before anything else happens." Bonecrusher huffed, he agreed with me.

The only way I knew how to hunt in the air was on the back of a Night Fury and a Whispering Death at my side. A Sky Chaser on the other hand, was almost as good as both put together. We were at a disadvantage with tracking, we were at an advantage with everything else. Bonecrusher was the fastest and most manoeuvrable Ice Beast I knew, due to his four wings and he was also the strongest and most powerful. If we had to win this on brute strength alone then we could. I wasn't the best tactician in the world, but I was learning. Time to apply my small amount of knowledge of fighting to this sticky situation.

I swung my torch away, searching for a dark splotch against the sky full of stars. Bonecrusher swung around in a slow circle, giving the time to spot her. She streaked past the stars "There!" I shouted. "Up, Bonecrusher, up!" I rushed him upwards to follow her. I kept my eyes on the blotch. My makeshift torch spluttered, and I almost let go of it, it was more of a hindrance now anyway. Nevertheless I clung to it as we streaked through the sky with a stream of fire flickering behind us.

We chased the Amberjaw through the night sky. She was fast, with large wings that let her sail through the air. We were hot on her heels, though, not 10 meters behind. Now that Bonecrusher had spotted her, he knew how he could keep her in sight. He turned when she turned, he spun when she spun, and because of his four wings, we did it that much faster.

We were gaining on her , so close that Bonecrusher could snap at her tail, and he did, his teeth grazing at the tip of her fire like finned tail. She roared in annoyance, and flipped around in mid air to face us. Bonecrusher halted, the two Ice Beasts hovered in the air, sizing each other up. Bonecrusher was physically larger than the Amberjaw, but there was a malicious gleam in her eyes. Her red eyes flicked from Bonecrusher's to mine. I held eye contact with her with what seemed like ages. I was shocked to find what I saw, intelligence of centuries past, grief beyond a thousand ages and madness. Endless madness.

I started to believe the legend.

The Amberjaw broke eye contact to whip her head around, spitting fire in our direction. Bonecrusher, caught off guard, ducked before being slammed into by the Ice Beast. She sank her claws into his chest, the sheer force of her blow almost throwing me off Bonecrusher's back as he roared in pain and anger. We fell, locked together. I hit the Amberjaw's head with my flaming torch and Bonecrusher bit her and tore at her. She let go and wailed. She flew off, head and neck badly wounded.

We chased her, soaring through the North Mountains once again. We sliced trough quickly forming clouds, up and down and in endless loops at a time during our aerial dog fight. Bonecrusher blew torrents of fire at her, He missed more often than not, but these were warning shots.

As much of a threat as she posed, neither Bonecrusher nor I wanted to kill the Ice Beast.

Be we had to.

A bloody battle continued as blows were traded whenever the Ice Beasts got close to each other. I tried to help as much as I could, jabbing at the Amberjaw with my torch and throwing daggers of ice that I formed whenever I got in range. I sported cuts and bruises, so did Bonecrusher and the Amberjaw. I wasn't sure how long we had been fighting. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, but no matter what happened, it didn't seem to end.

The Amberjaw dived, we dived after her. She twisted in mid air, belly up and back down, know angled towards us. She opened her mouth to breath fire. Bonecrusher and I readied ourselves. Crush could glide up, protecting me from harm, but his tail would get caught in the fire. It was okay, he was fire-proof.

But the Amberjaw did not breathe fire. She spat amber at us. Bonecrusher enacted the manoeuvre anyway, too late to realise our mistake. The amber froze around his tail fins and he roared in surprise. He wouldn't be able to fly with out the use of his tail fins.

I could swear the Amberjaw smirked. I saw my vision go red with rage, although we still fell in the same position, Bonecrusher would not be able to come out of the dive in a safe way with me on his back. The Amberjaw knew this. She expected us to crash in to the mountainside.

The Amberjaw, satisfied with her hunt, made to turn around in mid air and break out of the dive, leaving gravity to do the rest of her job. But she struggled, being not as manoeuvrable as Bonecrusher.

I made a split second decision. "Fly, Bonecrusher!" I shouted and leaped off his back toward the Amberjaw below us. It was utter madness. I hadn't done anything like this. The Ice Beast could fly away before I got to her. I could fall to my death if I missed. Adrenalin buzzed through my veins like nothing I had ever felt before and I felt as if I saw everything in slow motion.

Bonecrusher roared at me as I fell through the air, my hair streaking behind me and a defiant and what I suspected was a look of utter fury pasted all over my face. The Amberjaw had her back to me, preparing to fly away. I formed a long, three meter ice spear in my one hand, torch flaming in the other. I slammed onto the Amberjaw's back and she cried out in alarm. Caught off guard by the sudden weight we dropped like stones to the mountainside below. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bonecrusher clumsily fly away, dragging his tail behind him leaving to fight to me.

We were going to hit the ground, hard. I braced myself for impact, as did the Amberjaw.

We smacked into the ground, burying ourselves in a snow drift. I was thrown away from the Ice Beast and my torch was extinguished in a hiss.

I tumbled and fell, before finally coming to rest as the snow settled all around me.

I thought I blacked out for a second and one minute everything was black, the next thing I heard was a high pitched ringing in my ears. I opened my eyes to a fuzzy and disorientating world. I felt disconnected from my body, but my hand was still clamped around my spear.

I heard a scream, distant, terrifying. I saw the Ice Beast, little more than a blue and red blotch in my eye sight.

My brain snapped into gear and all at once my eyesight and hearing returned to normal. The Amberjaw lunged form me, mad with beyond anger, as she screeched and came closer, about to rip me to shred with he long claws and dagger-like teeth.

I was on my back, utterly defenceless except for one thing.

At the last minute I thrust me spear upwards as I felt talons on my chest and teeth at my face.

The spear punctured into the Ice Beasts stomach with a sickening slice.

Blood poured onto my hands, my arms, my face and stained to snow around me. But it wasn't Ice Beast blue.

The blood was red.

I stared into the blue, human eyes of the Valkyrie, my spear impaled into her stomach. Blond hiar fell around her face as blood dripped from her mouth on to my cheek.

I was utterly horrified with what I had just done, but I couldn't move.

The Valkyire's eyelids fluttered, and her arms reached for me, weak and numb, and she caressed my cheek as she muttered two words.

"Thank you," She barely whispered.

Then she died.

* * *

I clutched onto the Valkyire's body as we flew back to the ice castle. Small, weak, fragile. So small compared to my Frost Giant size. I cradled her against me chest, the warrior whose name I would never know.

I hadn't known what to do. I had to take her back with me. I couldn't just leave her. I had to give her a proper burial. I couldn't just leave her.

Tears mingled with the blue and red blood on my cheek. I don't know what to do. I just had to wait.

We returned to the castle when the sun set, Bonecrusher flying as fast and as high as he could to get me back.

Farbauti was waiting for me on the battlements as I slid off Bonecrusher with the Valkyrie's body in my arms.

I didn't want to let her go, but Farbauti ordered someone to tale care of it as I barely breathed to explain that the Valkyrie had been the Amberjaw.

Farbauti congratulated to me in succeeding where no one else had, but I hardly heard it. I barely registered anything.

After I had cleaned off all the blood on me, I attended the Valkyrie's funeral. A crowd had gathered at the small lake on the south side of the village. News had quickly spread about my return after my three day quest to kill the Amberjaw. There was confusion as to why we were having a funeral for a Valkyrie, but I didn't care. I stood on the shoreline, toes touching the water, as I watched the small boat sail on the clam waters on the lake. The archers, I counted Nirym amongst their numbers, shot their flaming arrows into the sky. They arched, trailing fire through the new sky and thudded into the deck of the boat. It caught fire, and engulfed the body of the Valkyrie.

Farbauti ordered the Mage to take me home shortly after the boat had sunk under the lakes waters. I don't remember saying goodbye to her, but I remembered Icder approaching me and promising that she and the others would take care of Bonecrusher in my absence. Then the cold blue light smothered my vision as I was teleported back to Earth.

I vowed to myself that I would never forget the Valkyrie, as I stood atop a rooftop of New York, on the eve of my birthday. Instead of it being dawn, it was evening. The sky was an orangey pink colour. All I wanted to do was crawl into my bed and sleep. The events of this long weekend would be seared into my brain forever.

What a way to spend my birthday weekend.


End file.
